If You Could Change The World
by BregoArodShadowfax
Summary: If you could change the world, what would you do?  A simple question leads to interesting results.  Marauder's sixth year.  Fluffy oneshot.  SBRL slash.


**Okay, so I never thought it would happen, but I wrote a Sirius/Remus fic. The idea just kind of jumped at me while walking out of the college yesterday, and I had to get it down before it left me as they always do. **

**Reviews feed my inner wolf, and he's always hungry:)**

**Flames, however, make him mad, and tomorrow's full moon, so I wouldn't suggest it. Yes, it's slash, deal with it. Or don't, but if you don't want to read it, I hold nothing against you…as long as you don't complain to me about something I already know. **

**Anywho, enjoy, **_**mes amis**_

**Disclaimer: Harry Potter and all associated characters do not belong to me. **

**If You Could Change The World**

"Hey, Moony?"

"Yes?" Remus Lupin looked up from his Astronomy homework: plotting a star diagram for the September sky. He was just putting the finishing touches on Ursa Minor, shading in the North Star. He knew for a fact that even while it was due in two days, Sirius Black had not yet even started. The other boy was far too predictable in that way. He would no doubt start it at 5:00 am the day it was due, finish it in a half-hour, and still get full marks on it. Remus sighed as he got up and walked to the window, staring out at the sky as a reference for his chart.

"If you could change the world, what would you do?" Sirius continued. He was lounging on an armchair near the fire. They were the only ones in the common room at the time; it was nearly 1:00 in the morning, but of course the only way to complete an accurate star chart was to do it when the stars were visible, and this was the first clear night they had had since the chart was assigned.

"Why would you ask that?"

"Just answer the question, Moony."

Remus sighed again. Sirius could be absolutely infuriating at times. "Why aren't you with Marissa?"

"Aw, come on, Remus! And if you have to ask, I broke up with her."

"What? Why?" Marissa Stevens was a pretty Ravenclaw in their year; she and Sirius were a near perfect match in everyone's eyes. And although school had only been on for three weeks, she was already his second girlfriend of the year. Although anybody Sirius was with for more than a week deserved some kind of award.

"It was beyond my control," Sirius replied with a shrug. "Some higher power decided that we two were not meant to be together. You can read these things in the stars, you know."

"Now you sound like a Divination teacher. I thought you considered that whole study codswallop?" Remus asked with a smile.

"I _do_, Moony! But look…" he joined the smaller boy at the window. "Sirius. The star. It's alone. Maybe I'm meant to be alone."

"Oh, Sirius, that doesn't mean anything," Remus assured his friend.

"But you still haven't answered me."

"That's because I thought it would be obvious. If I could change the world, I would eliminate all prejudice against werewolves. We'd be able to get jobs, able to go to school, able to marry, able to have children, able to live exactly like everybody else. So why did you have to ask?" Remus left the window to go back to filling in his star chart.

"Because now you have to ask me," Sirius responded with a bit of a secretive smile.

"I what?"

"It's only polite. You have to ask me."

"I…fine. Padfoot, if you could change the world, what would you do?"

"Almost the same thing as you, I think. Except I would eliminate all prejudice against everybody that was…different. Or that people saw as being different," Sirius responded, and there was no trace of humor in his tone.

"That's surprisingly deep," Remus glanced up at the dark-haired boy.

"Is it? I suppose. It's just…I'm fed up, Remus. You know I left home this summer. Went to Prongs'" Sirius informed the tawny-haired boy unnecessarily. Of course Remus knew; Sirius had written him almost as soon as he had left. "My parents are so blind to anything that's not right. I'm honestly surprised they haven't arranged a respectable, pure-blood marriage for me yet. You know Narcissa and Lucius are getting married, right?"

"That was arranged?" Remus raised an eyebrow. Narcissa Black and Lucius Malfoy seemed to be another couple that fit each other perfectly, even if those reasons weren't the most positive.

"Yeah. And Bella's engaged to the Rodolphus Lestrange."

"And your point is?"

"Have you ever heard of a gay wizard?"

Remus thought about it for a moment before sitting up, still unsure as to where Sirius was going with all of this. "No, I really can't say that I have."

"That's because it's extremely taboo. Especially for pureblood families. I'm sure there're tons of them out there, but they're too afraid to come out. Their families would disown them, or even kill them. I just don't think it's fair," Sirius replied, sinking down beside his friend.

"Of course it isn't. But why would that concern you?"

"Because I am."

"You're what?"

"Gay. Or bi, at least."

"Oh."

"Oh?"

"Yes. Oh." Remus bent over his diagram again, sketching in Ursa Major.

"That's it? No 'oh, Sirius, that's disgusting?'"

"No. It's perfectly normal; it's not like it's something you can just ignore and hope it will go away. So you like guys. Who cares? But I do have to ask why you chose to tell me," Remus added thoughtfully, chewing on the end of his quill.

"I told you because I figured you'd understand. Because you've experienced prejudice your whole life, so you should know how it felt to be scorned for something you can't control," Sirius leaned back, laying down on the floor.

"Well, you're right. Does Prongs know?"

"Of course not. He's pureblood, too. He'd probably freak out," Sirius sighed, reaching up to run a hand through his silky black hair.

"Pads, James is your best friend. I doubt something like that would even cause him to blink. That is, as long as you don't fancy him. You don't fancy him, do you?" Remus was a little afraid of the answer, knowing that, if that were the case, James probably _would _freak out.

"No, no. I mean, I love him, but not like that!"

"Oh. So…_is _there anyone you fancy?"

Sirius mumbled something incoherent.

"What was that, Pads? I couldn't quite hear you."

"I said, why haven't you ever had a girlfriend?"

"I really hate it when you do that, you know. Change the subject with no provocation," Remus shook his head. "And you know the answer to that, as well. I've never had a girlfriend because if I did I would have to inform her of my 'furry little problem,' and we both know that the more people at Hogwarts that know I'm not supposed to be here, the greater the chance that one of them will slip up. Besides, I can't marry, and I can't have children. I would never want to throw that on a girl and expect her to be faithful to me. Plus, I…"

"You what?" Sirius sat up.

"I'm not…exactly…what you would call 'physically attractive,'" Remus smiled ruefully. "You've seen what my body looks like."

"You think that should matter to somebody if they really love you? Rem, you've got to be the nicest person, I've ever met! You're intelligent, you're kind to everybody…even Snivellus…and you've got the most incredible eyes…" Sirius clapped a hand over his mouth, seeming to realize in an instant that he had gone too far.

"I'm…what?"

"Never mind…"

"No, really, Sirius…"

"Alright. But I'm moving over here before you get a chance to hit me," Sirius stood up and retreated to the other end of the common room. "To answer your question: _yes, _there is somebody I fancy. I think you're absolutely perfect, Rem. And I know you'll probably hate me forever, but it was killing me not to get it out there."

"You…you're in love with me. Sirius Black, the most notorious womanizer in the school, is in love with _me?"_ Remus had to smother a laugh.

"It's not funny, Moony!" Sirius exclaimed indignantly.

"No, it isn't. You're right. But it's horribly ironic, don't you think? I mean, after all, it would only be fitting that the best-looking guy in the school be paired with the best-looking girl, and instead you've got a crush on…me," Remus admitted, suddenly finding his homework very interesting once more.

"And what's wrong with that?"

"Because I'm…oh, Sirius, it hardly matters," Remus shook his head. "The point is," he stood up and went back to the window, sighing as he looked out at the dark sky; trying to get some answers from anywhere that would give them. His eye was drawn, as it always was, to the moon…it was half-full, only another week until the monster would come out and he would forget who he was…forget everything except the need to draw blood. "The point is, I'm a monster."

"You expect me to believe that old shtick? Face it, Moony, one night a month doesn't count. Have you ever thought that maybe…just _maybe _the reason you've never bothered to look for a girlfriend is that you're not romantically interested in girls?" Sirius asked, his courage bolstered considerably by the fact that Remus did not seem at all repulsed by his admission. Of course, this was _Remus_, but if it bothered him a lot he would have let it show, no matter how calm he always was.

"Several times."

"And?" Sirius walked forward, coming to join the other boy at the window and putting a light hand on Remus' shoulder.

"And…" Remus let out a sigh and continued to stare out the window. "Maybe it's true."

"What? Really?"

"Yes, really," Remus chuckled softly. "That's what I found so funny before. I never in my wildest dreams could have imagined that you'd be the one coming out to me…I always thought it would be the other way around."

"Then…you're…"

"Mm-hmm."

"Oh."

"Oh?"

"Yes. Oh." Sirius mentally slapped himself for repeating their earlier conversation. "I mean, do you…like…me?"

"Sirius, practically everybody in this school, male or female, has had a crush on you at some point."

"Even James?"

"I wouldn't doubt it. You should ask him sometime. That is, if you ever get the courage to tell him the truth," Remus turned around so he and Sirius were facing each other. The fire was dying low; the only light in the Common Room came through the large windows, and the angle of the moon made it so the room glowed with a bluish-white light. Sirius gulped as he realized how close they were…and he had been telling the truth about the werewolf's eyes. They were golden; and now in the moonlight they positively sparkled. Of all the reactions he had thought Remus would give him, this was not even one he had considered.

"I think it would be much easier to tell him, Moony, if I had somebody backing me up," he said, his voice low and husky.

"And by 'someone,' you of course mean me?" Remus asked, a smile playing about his lips.

"Maybe," Sirius whispered, grabbing the smaller boy about the waist and pulling him close. "But you know, Moony, if I really _could _change the world, I don't think I'd want to. Because right now, I don't see anything that needs to be changed," he said soberly.

"You _are _quite the romantic, aren't you?" Remus grinned, reaching up to tangle a hand in Sirius' long hair, running his fingers through the dark, silky strands.

Sirius closed his eyes and enjoyed the feelings coursing through his body; feelings no intimacy with a girl had ever given him. If he had any doubts about himself and Remus, they vanished in that instant. "I like to think so," he replied, realizing that his voice was somewhat breathy.

"Mmm…" Remus made a sound that could almost have passed for a purr, the moonlight playing off his sandy hair and accenting the few silver streaks in it. Remus had always thought it was horribly appalling to have grey hair at sixteen, but Sirius had often told him it gave him character. "I never allowed myself to think of you as beautiful, because it would have been admitting something I could never have told you, but you are, you know."

"I'm…what…" Sirius was finding it hard to form a coherent thought.

Remus merely gave him a secretive smile before he pulled the other boy's head down and their lips met. Sirius was now finding it _very _hard to even stand up. Remus was good, he realized and…where did he learn to kiss like that? Oh. He had never had _girl_friends, but there had been a few 'study partners' over the years. Deciding that it didn't really matter, Sirius returned the kiss with as much emotion as he could muster; Remus smelled like tea and chocolate and something…­_wolfish_…and it was the most intoxicating thing he had ever experienced.

Eventually, although neither boy could have said how long it was, Remus pulled away, amusement evident in his amber eyes. "Now tell me, Sirius, could you read _that _in the stars?"

And Sirius muttered something along the lines of "Curse the stars!" before pulling Remus in for another kiss.

**I apologize for the 'beyond my control' line, but I just watched "Dangerous Liaisons," and it just kind of…happened. And I don't even know if this fic makes sense…it was a lot of random thoughts written down in a short time. But please, don't be afraid to push that little purply-blue button proclaiming "Go!" on the left side of the screen. And I hope you enjoyed; I'm planning a longer Sirius/Remus fic next, so let me know what you think! **

**And Thx for reading! **


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